Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DIS'MAL, a. [s as z; I am not satisfied with the etymologies of this word which I have seen.]

1. Dark; gloomy; as, a dismal shade.
2. Sorrowful; dire; horrid; melancholy; calamitous; unfortunate; as, a dismal accident; dismal effects. – Milton.
3. Frightful; horrible; as, a dismal scream.